WomenNC’s mission is to lead North Carolina’s young adults in the elimination of injustice against women and girls. Our vision is to raise a generation that will honor women’s human rights. This blog follows the experiences of our talented fellows. Enjoy reading about their journeys!

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Gratitude - Alison's third post

As is appropriate for the time of year, I want to focus this
post on gratitude. First, I am grateful for my friends and family. On Thursday,
after stuffing ourselves with pie and turkey, my friends and family sat around
my living room talking. I tried to explain WomenNC, the purpose of my
fellowship, my research and the importance of creating advocates out of
students. I don’t think I adequately conveyed my passions, possibly because
when I said “women in labor” people thought I meant women giving birth! We got
a good laugh out of that, and I was thankful for this learning moment—I need to
come up with a better way of describing the necessity of WomenNC and our
research. Now, I could blame my bad explanation on my food-induced coma, but I
definitely want those I love to understand why I care about WomenNC and our
work.

Second, I am grateful for the amazing contacts with which
WomenNC connects me. On November 18, my mentor Maureen, WomenNC’s founder Beth
and I met with MaryBe McMillan, NC’s AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer. She is the
only woman to have held elected office in the state’s AFL-CIO and has been in
her position since 2005. McMillan actually became involved in the labor movement
as a student at NC State, organizing on precisely my research topic:
housekeeping workers. Thanks to her, I have more contacts now throughout North
Carolina and the US. I am grateful for the opportunity to talk to various
leaders fighting for the rights of working women and men and their generosity
of time to help me engage in my research.